Option b is the correct answer. Akbar was the ruler of India when the English East India Company was formed. The English East India Company was formed on December 31, 1600, by a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I of England. The company was established to trade with the East Indies, which included the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Akbar died in 1605, and was succeeded by his son Jahangir, who received the first English ships that arrived in India in 1608. Jahangir allowed the company to establish a factory at Surat, which became its first foothold in India.